Café Pistou

We delivered:

Our approach

We combined the dreaminess of Provence with London’s irrepressible energy to create a unique new restaurant concept.

Our brief

When entrepreneur Charlie McLean set out to launch a restaurant brand inspired by Provençal food, he came to us to help him define every element of the offer.

Brand strategy

A research trip to Provence helped us get under the skin of Charlie’s vision. We didn’t have to travel as far to get to know our potential customers: Exmouth Market is 30 seconds walk from our studio. It was clear that the street’s discerning foodies would see right through a simple pastiche of a Provençal restaurant.

So we set out to create something new: a brand that took Provence’s wonderful sunshine food and reimagined it for London’s vibrant restaurant scene. This felt unique and exciting, and led us to a simple yet powerful Brand Idea: ‘Urban Idyll’.

Visual identity

Urban Idyll gave us a rich design brief, enabling us to combine rustic touches of Provence with a more cosmopolitan aesthetic.

We based the logo on the letterforms of a hand-made metal sign we found in Provence. The flexible colour palette referenced the ubiquitous painted shutters that seemed to define the region. We overlaid this with a highly crafted typographic system that placed the brand firmly in London.

Activation

We brought Urban Idyll to life across every element of the brand, from the menus and guest experience, right through to the website, photography, social media and PR. The interiors were developed as part of a collaborative process with Michaelis Boyd.

Ragged Edge were involved from the start. We worked collaboratively on every part of the project – from defining the concept to launching the restaurant to the press and public. I couldn’t be happier with the result.